A testimony to Yochai Porat

Coordinator of the Jewish Agency's Magen David Adom Volunteer Program.
Killed in action at Ofra.

THE LATE YOCHAI PORAT

THE JEWISH AGENCY FOR ISRAEL
COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION UNIT

4 March 2002

First Sergeant (Res.) was killed on Sunday morning of March 3rd by a sniper's bullet at the Ofra checkpoint.

I saw him, a week before, young, vigorous, in the uniform of a Magen David Adom paramedic, surrounded by young volunteers from six different countries, at the time of Sen. Hillary Clinton's visit to the Jewish Agency-Magen David Adom foreign volunteers program. These young men and women looked to him as their leader, which he was. As he emerged from his meeting with Sen. Clinton, his boyish face was filled with emotion. Later, when he handed out certificates to the course graduates the pride was visible on his face. He had helped train a new group of volunteers who would be tied to Israel by a bond of personal service and fraternity. He was more than a medic, more than an administrator; he was an educator.

Yochai joined the Jewish Agency's Tnuat Aliyah staff as coordinator of the Foreign Volunteers Program, which is jointly run with the Magen David Adom. For ten years he had been a volunteer medic with the Magen David Adom in Israel. The foreign volunteer program, which had been in existence for many years, took on new impetus after Yochai became its coordinator. He expanded, developed and improved this program. In less than a year the program became well known in many countries.

As part of his duties, he personally taught first aid to volunteers. He took into consideration the personal needs each volunteer. He carefully chose the assignments of each one to appropriate MDA stations; he offered personal guidance; he gave information about aliyah possibilities and life in Israel, and did all he could to help each volunteer both while they were enrolled in the program and later on, after their return to their native lands.

Yochai was a most dedicated and employee His personal enthusiasm and his smile succeeded in attracting volunteers to the program and to return and volunteer again for additional tours of duty.

Along with his work in the Jewish Agency, Yochai continued to volunteer, himself, for the Magen David Adom, and helped save lives of countless victims in of terror attacks and tragedies, such as te Versailles banquet hall disaster, the Dolphinarium disco terror attack, terror attacks in Kfar Sava and Karnei Shomron.

About a year ago, with the increase of terror attacks in Israel, an in particular, in the center of Jerusalem, he convinced the MDA to assign an ambulance to him wherever he might be so that he could respond at a moment's notice to offer initial care. This ambulance would be parked next to the offices of Tnuat Aliyah.

Above all he viewed his work in the Jewish Agency with foreign MDA volunteers as a labor of love. He did all in his power to draw the young men and women of the closer to Israel and to the Magen David Adom Family.

Today Yochai will be buried at 16:00 in the Kfar Sava military cemetery.

He leaves behind parents, a brother and sister. May his memory be blessed.

-Viki Angel
Deputy General
Jewish Agency Department of Aliyah and Klitah
Director of Tnuat Aliyah